Hello im new and in need of help

Hi everyone i am in need of some help i have been smoking a pipe off and on for about five years and in the last year or so i have become more devoted to "the art of smoking and enjoying a pipe" i smoke only english blends 'cause thats what i like.... but in the past week or two all of the blends i smoke, dunhill nightcap/dunhill early moring pipe/esoterica margate. HAVE NO OR LITTLE TASTE. these blends once wowed me with there heavenly taste. now i get nothing. has anyone experienced this before?

Subject: Re: Hello im new and in need of help Sun Jan 27, 2013 10:44 pm

Hi SMG913 welcome to the forum, I am new at pipe smoking so I can't answer your question, but I'm sure you will get some replies soon, also have you tried to smoke something else for a while then go back to your regular tobacco?

Subject: Re: Hello im new and in need of help Sun Jan 27, 2013 11:04 pm

Maybe try a simple burley or mild Va blend for a week or so then go back to you favorites. You may want to try not smoking anything for a wile then get back into it,every time a take a break the blends seem to have better taste than before. Oh and welcome to BoB.

Subject: Re: Hello im new and in need of help Sun Jan 27, 2013 11:11 pm

Thanks for the "welcomes" i will try some new blends in hope to re kindle my taste for my fav blends. i hate aro blends is there any specific name blends you could suggest beside a english or aro blend?

Subject: Re: Hello im new and in need of help Mon Jan 28, 2013 12:23 am

Welcome, when things a little blah for me I smoke a bowl or two of Carter Hall, and for some reason my fav's taste so much better. Kaplan has a great point, I have used the salt & alcohol treatment with great results!

Subject: Re: Hello im new and in need of help Mon Jan 28, 2013 8:39 am

i feel my pipes are pretty clean,i do my best to keep them in the best shape i can, but i will inspect them a little better and see but i think kirk nailed it. i feel i just might be getting sick. thanks for all the welcomes and advice

Subject: Re: Hello im new and in need of help Mon Jan 28, 2013 3:56 pm

smg, How many bowls are you smoking a day? Is there a marked difference in the flavors you pick up with the first bowl of the day compared to the last?

Anyway, I have had this happen to me a couple times, even with heavy full bodied blends like Odyssey, Margate and Penzance. It wasn't as though I couldn't taste anything but it was more like all the nuances and complexities that I normally experience (the flavors that I was expecting to be there) were not coming through. Plain and simple, they were muted, and not at all registering in with the olfactory nerve a.k.a "the pleasure dome."

I thought my issues were sinus related but I am fairly certain in hindsight that it was good old fashioned sensory fatigue. This issue happens with wine tasting, beer sampling, or any other situation where your taste buds are spinning their wheels trying to keep up with what you are sending their way. Sometimes they just need a rest.

Give this a try. Put your pipe away for 3-4 days, even two and come back to it. The best smokes I usually have are the first ones after a bit of a pipe smoking lay off.

I know, I know, the worst advice to give out on a pipe smoking forum, afterall we're supposed to be encouraging each other to enjoy piping more, right?. But seriously, give it a try. If you do, I'd be interested to read your findings.

Subject: Re: Hello im new and in need of help Mon Jan 28, 2013 5:25 pm

That IS a pain. If your bowl's clean, your tobacco's moist (didn't leave a bag open and dry out did you?), you've tried different tobaccos to same effect, you're probably just a little sick. It's certainly happened to me, just lay off a few days and try again.

Subject: Re: Hello im new and in need of help Wed Jan 30, 2013 12:47 am

Welcome brother! I'm sorry your having problems. It does sound like you might be coming down with something. I find that when I get sick it's best to hold off on the pipe till I recover ( unfortunately for me that can be up to two months for stupid cold). Hope you feel better soon, and your favorites get their flavor back.